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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22605697">in the land of make-believe</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/mew_tsubaki/pseuds/Miraphina%20Atherton'>Miraphina Atherton (mew_tsubaki)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Maydayverse, also Basil the cat is here bc canon things</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 11:53:33</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,674</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22605697</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/mew_tsubaki/pseuds/Miraphina%20Atherton</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It was just a lazy night that meant nothing and everything to Regulus as he listened to the sound of Gideon's voice.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Regulus Black/Gideon Prewett</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>in the land of make-believe</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>The Harry Potter characters belong to J.K. Rowling, not to me. Read, review, and enjoy! *Note: This is a companion piece to Morghen's oneshot, "<a href="https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8069435/1/we-will-be-the-last-ones-standing">we will be the last ones standing</a>," from which the pairing originates.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>On one of those hazy nights, one of those nights spent in Gideon's flat with Basil huffing in her kitten way as neither of you are energetic enough to play with her—it was on one of those nights when you pushed your day-mares and night-terrors about the end of the summer far out of your mind. There in Gideon's place, it was just you, Basil, Gideon, and the heat of a humid summer night.</p><p>"It must be awful, wearing fur as she does," you said. You were on your stomach in bed, the thin sheet cooling the backs of your legs as your arm dipped down over the side of the bed and Basil batted at your splayed fingers.</p><p>Gideon walked in from the bathroom and shut off the loo's and the hallway's lights. He smiled as his eyes adjusted to the darkness as yours had long ago (and you always have to remind yourself that it was the neutral kind of darkness you had meant, not the evil kind, not the kind that was going to ruin your life once you had left that beloved haven). "She'll be fine. She'll sleep in the shadows, or she'll sleep on top of one of us. I don't think it really bothers her."</p><p>"Well, it bothers <em>me</em>," you said. The bed sank beside you as Gideon sat down and hovered over your back. It was funny; though you were hot, you couldn't turn Gideon away. He could heat you up or cool you down…he was always in sync with you.</p><p>"No, I don't think it bothers you. I think <em>I</em> bother you," Gideon teased, leaving less and less space between his chest and your back as he sank down, down, down—but never letting your skins touch. When he heard your gasp, he chuckled. "Oh, hell, I really do get you hot and bothered."</p><p>You rolled your eyes at his awful pun—Gideon really didn't know when to stop sometimes. Tuning out Basil's mews, you drew up your arm and rolled over so that your face was so close to Gideon's. Well, obviously <em>you</em> got him all "hot and bothered," as he'd put it, for the next thing you knew, his mouth covered yours before you even blinked, and suddenly the heat didn't matter anymore as he tossed the sheet aside and decided that no one needed pajamas on a night as humid as this.</p><p>But it was just a brief moment of midnight madness, for Gideon tucked you into his arms shortly after, and his breathing evened as he rested his head on your pillow. His breaths reached your ears, and it was such a tranquil sound that you vowed never to forget it, no matter what happened in the future.</p><p>"I'd like it if you 'bothered' me forever," you said abruptly, and you heard his brown lashes fluttering open. He hadn't really been asleep, though, not really.</p><p>"Of course I'll bother you forever," Gideon muttered. As if to prove his point, he loosened one of his arms from your chest, drawing his hand down your stomach and painfully teasing you before letting his fingertips graze the skin of your hip and resting his hand there.</p><p>"That's not what I meant, Gid."</p><p>"I know, luv…" Gideon exhaled deeply, and it sounded like a sigh. But it wasn't, because you knew his sighs, and he had tried very hard not to sigh at all during your season-long stay at his new place. Perhaps he thought that his sighs would make your stay shorter…but nothing would have made your stay shorter, nothing.</p><p>You frowned and turned your head into the crook of his shoulder. "Hey, Gid?"</p><p>"Mmm?"</p><p>"Tell me something good."</p><p>He could have replied a million ways. He could've told you to shut up and sleep—albeit politely. He could've said no, told you he loved you, and said goodnight. He could've said that all right, then, Basil would grow ginormous and eat your parents and you'd never have to worry about desiring their acceptance or handling their issues ever again.</p><p>Instead, you had to prompt him again. "Gid?" you prodded.</p><p>"In a land far, far away…"</p><p>"Gideon, what are you doing?"</p><p>"Shh! I'm thinking on my feet here! Er, so to speak…" Gideon's fingers waltzed on your hip as he thought, and they came to grip your side as he settled on an idea. "I've got it. In a land far, far away…there was a princess as pretty as could be. Her name was Basil."</p><p>You couldn't help it. You grinned.</p><p>"Princess Basil ruled a fair kingdom, and she had her friend, the elite female spy Roussia, there to guide her. The two women were a shrew pair, but they had to be. Basil's daddy, the king, was in no state of mind to rule the kingdom, no state at all…" Gideon's voice trailed off a bit, and you jabbed your elbow in his stomach.</p><p>"Hey, I'm wide awake now!"</p><p>"Eh? Sorry, sorry…" Gideon sighed happily and continued. "Basil's father, King Gideon, had been lost for quite some time. See, he came from a whole line of royalty, and he had never met with much trouble before. But several years before Basil began to rule in his place, Gideon had been in love. His love was the most beautiful thing around, and, even though the two of them were from different classes, Gideon had made it work."</p><p>"Oh? Was the king's queen beautiful?"</p><p>"Who said the king couldn't have another king? Or a kind of prince?" Gideon nibbled your earlobe for your interruption, but, once you were done chuckling—he knew you were ticklish there—you insisted he resumed his tale. "But King Gideon was in love with a peasant man, Lad Regulus. And, though they were perfect together and the people of the kingdom accepted Lad Regulus as their king's mate and Basil loved her second father…all was not well in the kingdom. For Lad Regulus…he'd been taken from the king."</p><p>An insect chirped in the middle of the night, and it didn't seem like a good idea anymore, getting a bedtime story. But, though you tried convincing yourself you were sleepy, Gideon suddenly seemed wide awake. And you could just feel his eyes boring holes into the back of your head.</p><p>"Lad Regulus had indeed been stolen," Gideon restated, his voice soft and stern at once. "A dark lord from another country had had his eyes on Regulus' beauty and talents. And, though King Gideon had felt that something bad had been about to happen…the dark lord still managed to steal Lad Regulus from his lover."</p><p>"Gideon…," you warned. Why had he done this? If Gideon had wanted to ruin things, he should have saved it all for the end of the summer when you'd part. Because you doubted you would ever see him again after this blissful time—unless you met to ki—to ki—<em>ki</em>— You couldn't even think the word, let alone the idea.</p><p>"But here's the thing," Gideon whispered, his lips so very close to your ear that his breath scalded the surface of your cheek. "Despite the funk into which he'd fallen, the king knew he could leave the kingdom in Basil's and Roussia's capable paws…ah, hands. So King Gideon ventured out in search of Lad Regulus, and his adventure put Cinderella's, Sleeping Beauty's, and Snow White's princes all to shame."</p><p>"Who're Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White?" you asked.</p><p>"That's not the point," Gideon said, a little irritated at the interruption this time. "The point is that Gideon chased after Regulus and never gave up on him. He dueled many other skilled knights—like Malfoy and Lestrange. There was even a dragon called Bellatrix."</p><p>Okay, at that you had to snicker.</p><p>"Gideon even managed to defeat the Sorcerer Snape's evil schemes to fight the dark lord. And Gideon had never been so scared before in his entire life."</p><p>"…what was the lord's name?" You winced as Gideon's arms around you tightened almost painfully; so, there was one thing that was definitely off-limits.</p><p>"Gideon had never been so scared…but he'd never had such courage either. See, Lad Regulus had been everything to him. His mind, heart, body, and soul, and everything between. Regulus was his wits, his courage, his sanity…his life. Without Regulus, Gideon had no kingdom, for what was a kingdom without Regulus?</p><p>And, then, the miraculous happened. Gideon came face-to-face with the dark lord. It was a clash to end all clashes, and all those who had suffered at the hands of the dark lord cheered the good king on—they went, 'yay!' and 'huzzah!' and 'gesundheit!' All right, so maybe they didn't say the last thing, but it was fairly spectacular when King Gideon vanquished that slimy git. And then you know what happened?"</p><p>Gideon really waited for you to say, "No, what happened?"</p><p>"Then King Gideon took Lad Regulus and shagged him right then and there, kissing his collar bone and sucking on his fingers and stroking something he hadn't touched in ages…"</p><p>"Gideon! Basil's still in the room!"</p><p>"So what? She's a cat, Reg." The redhead cleared his throat. "Anyway, the king was glad to have Lad Regulus back in his arms. And, when they returned, Basil kept the throne so that her fathers could live in peace like normal people. And…"</p><p>Maybe it was the exhaustion tugging at you that egged you on, so you prompted, "And…?"</p><p>"And they cuddled happily ever after," he finished, and upon completion he rested his chin on your head and wrapped his arms around your chest like chains binding you in that place. They probably could've kept you there if they'd been an Unbreakable Vow. But they weren't.</p><p>"No one 'cuddles happily ever after,'" you corrected with a pout.</p><p>Gideon sighed. "Fine then. They loved happily ever after." He kissed your head and all went quiet. But, just as you fell asleep, he added, "I promise."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Oops. This was meant to be pure fluff…but it got angsty…I blame Regulus! XP Things are always angsty with him! XPPP WAIT! I think I might be able to write Regulus fluff… *haz an idea* Oh, and please ignore Roussia, readers of Mor's oneshot; Roussia is an inside joke. ;] Oh, the puns! Since "Regulus" means "little king." :3 Please do read Morghen's oneshot, tho, of which this is a companion. It is such an excellent story… Regideon needs more love!</p><p>Thanks for reading, and please review!</p><p>-mew-tsubaki -w-</p><p>2017 note: OH, MAN. I love Regideon so much, man… Mor's story rly is a worthwhile read, and it's actually a part of my overall headcanon, tbh. XD I love it (and Mor :3) so much. Damn good ship, damn good story, damn good writing. And who can say no to Regulus angst? ;Ps</p></blockquote></div></div>
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